I had a social media post
go viral recently.
It received many, MANY thousands
of likes.
I didn’t receive
any new followers
due to that post.
Not one.
Sales
didn’t increase
due to it.
I gained no additional satisfaction
from the post
being seen by so many people.
All it did
was suck a lot of my time
as I had to manage the responses.
Going viral isn’t always
the solution
to your marketing woes.
Look into
a variety of possible solutions
and hope
one of those
works for you.
One of my favorite things
to do
as someone running
a Romance Novel Business
is
hint at products to come.
I love casually mentioning
a character in a previous story
or a blog post,
for example,
and then
responding to readers (customers)
who suggest
I should write that character’s story.
I tell them
that’s a great idea.
And months later,
I publish that character’s story.
That makes readers happy.
They are super invested
in that story
because it was ‘their idea.’
They don’t know
I planted that idea
in their brains
and that this was so successful
hundreds of readers (customers)
also messaged me
with the same suggestion.
Hint at products and services
to come.
Get your prospects and existing customers
invested in those ideas.
When I help others,
I do it
as quietly as possible.
I don’t want the recognition.
That’s not why
I’m helping others.
But I know
my good deeds
will eventually go public.
There’s always a trail.
And we live in a world
where everyone has a recording device
and is constantly using it.
Someone WILL say something
or post something
or tell someone.
When I help others,
I accept that will happen.
You don’t have to tell others
about your good deeds.
Someone else
will eventually share
that news.
And it will be more powerful
because it is being shared
by that someone else.
There is no need
to broadcast your good deeds.
Send your newsletter.
I know. I know.
You’re busy.
You think you have nothing
to say.
You don’t want to
‘bother’ people.
Etc.
First, they want
to be ‘bothered.’
That’s why
they signed up
for your newsletter.
You will receive
some unsubscribes.
Those are people
who have changed their minds.
Or maybe they’re going through
some personal sh*t.
Who knows?
But at one time,
in the past,
they wanted your newsletter.
The remaining people
on your list
still want your newsletter.
Give them what they want
and send it.
Second,
we’re all busy.
But newsletters
are the best sources
of sales.
And most of us
would be happy
to have a few more sales.
Third,
you have plenty to say.
Tell subscribers how other people
are using your product.
Tell them why people
love your product.
Tell them
why you developed it.
Show them a photo
of your dog
and the product.
(Photos of pets
put most customers
in a good mood
and people in good moods
buy stuff.)
You worked hard
to develop
your newsletter subscriber list.
Use it.
Yes, I know
your products are available
at a variety of places.
Yes, I know
if you set up a page
with links to all those places,
you will likely
forget one.
Yes, I know
it is simpler
to tell prospects
to search for
your product name
at their online store of choice.
But most people
won’t search
for your product name.
That is too much work
for them.
(I’m included in that group.)
They won’t buy your product.
Add a buy link
to social media posts.
If you forget
an online store
on your website’s product listing,
add it.
But please send customers
somewhere.
Some of your customers
have told you
they’d love a version
of your product
wrapped in Halloween-themed packaging.
But you also know
there’s a growing intolerance
in some of your target markets
(like the Southern USA)
for anything viewed as not Christian.
What do you do?
You change your packaging
to orange.
You change the font color
to black.
Bam.
You have Halloween-themed packaging
that you could sell all year round
and that no one can ‘prove’
is Halloween-themed.
Play with orange and black
this spooky season.
In yesterday’s post,
I used the term
‘female facing.’
Being female facing
AS A BUSINESS
is a choice.
Our businesses
can be any gender
we wish them to be,
including genderless.
In the Romance Novel writing business,
for example,
I might wish my branding
to be genderless
to appeal to a certain
target market.
I might use initials
instead of a first name
in my pen name
(company name)
and I might use
genderless avatars
on social media.
I would be female
but I wouldn’t be female facing.
Being female facing
AS A BUSINESS
is a choice.
Make that decision
consciously.
If you’re female facing
and a male facing person
uses ‘sweetie’
when posting to your message
online,
block that person.
Hell, save yourself
future trouble
and
block anyone
who uses ‘sweetie’ in that way
with any female facing person.
‘Sweetie’ is not only
condescending
and patronizing,
a means of belittling
you and your views,
but it is also
a dog whistle
to women haters everywhere.
By using it,
the person
is intentionally sending
a wave of hate
your way.
They are deliberately
trying to harm you.
The use of ‘sweetie’
is meant
to attract
more of those awful people
to your account
and to you.
You’ll be swamped
by hate
and you’ll have to manage that.
No one has time
for that sh*t.
View ‘sweetie’
as an automatic block.
Mass death
has been normalized
during the pandemic.
Over a million Americans
have died
from COVID directly.
Doctors talk
about the death of the vulnerable
like it is nothing
that should be actively avoided.
It is no longer
a sad occurrence
for many people.
It is the cost
of doing business.
In the past,
I haven’t scheduled promotions
for my books (products)
before noon EST on September 11th
out of respect
for American customers.
This year,
I’m scheduling promotions
that morning.
I doubt I’ll receive
any complaints.
Mass death
has been normalized.
I don’t like that
AT ALL
but it IS reality.
Expectations have changed
and product marketing
should change also.
Should you wash
your produce thoroughly
before selling it
at a farmers’ market?
Logic would say
you should.
But humans
aren’t logical beings.
There was a study
by the National Farmers’ Market
Association
that found
consumers were willing to pay
25% more for the exact same produce
if it came dirty.
Why?
Because they feel dirty produce
is ‘proof’
it came directly
from the farm.
Don’t wash
your produce
before selling it
at a farmers’ market.